Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device including: an insulating substrate; a semiconductor element mounted on the insulating substrate; an internal printed circuit board disposed on the semiconductor element; and a sealing member that seals the semiconductor element, the internal printed circuit board, and at least a portion of the insulating substrate. The sealing member is made of a sealant that includes a resin and a pigment, and that initially has a chromatic, white, or gray color, and the sealing member degrades, thereby causing color of a front surface thereof to change to a degree recognizable by a user after the semiconductor device has been in use under a prescribed condition for a prescribed duration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device.

2. Background Art

Patent Document 1 discloses, in relation to a power module, asemiconductor device that includes a base plate. According to the samedocument, the service life of a semiconductor device, which isdetermined by the progression of solder embrittlement, can be predictedby observing changes in the appearance of the semiconductor device thatare a result of cracks in the base plate.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.2012-190897

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a semiconductor deviceand method that substantially obviate one or more of the problems due tolimitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple andeffective way and structure to evaluate the degree of usage and/orremaining life span of a semiconductor device.

Additional or separate features and advantages of the invention will beset forth in the descriptions that follow and in part will be apparentfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realizedand attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, in oneaspect, the present disclosure provides a semiconductor deviceincluding: an insulating substrate; a semiconductor element mounted onthe insulating substrate; an internal printed circuit board disposed onthe semiconductor element; and a sealing member that seals thesemiconductor element, the internal printed circuit board, and at leasta portion of the insulating substrate; wherein the sealing member ismade of a sealant that includes a resin and a pigment, and thatinitially has a chromatic, white, or gray color, and wherein the sealingmember degrades, thereby causing color of a front surface thereof tochange to a degree recognizable by a user after the semiconductor devicehas been in use under a prescribed condition for a prescribed duration.

It is preferable that the pigment have a blue color so that a b* valuewithin a L*a*b* color space of the front surface of the sealing memberis −40 to −20.

It is preferable that the b* value of at least a portion of the frontsurface of the sealing member change to −5 or above as a result ofdegradation of the sealant.

It is preferable that the pigment have a blue color and the sealantfurther include another pigment that has a yellow color, so that an a*value within a L*a*b* color space of the front surface of the sealingmember is −30 to −15.

It is preferable that the a* value of at least a portion of the frontsurface of the sealing member change to −5 or above as a result ofdegradation of the sealant.

According to a different embodiment, a device including a printedcircuit board, and the semiconductor device mounted in a plurality onthe printed circuit board, is provided.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method ofestimating remaining life of a semiconductor device that includes asealing member made of a sealant, the sealant initially having achromatic, white, or gray color, the method including: heating a testsealant that has the same composition as the sealant in thesemiconductor device at prescribed heating temperatures for prescribeddurations; acquiring a relationship among the heating temperatures,heating durations, and resulting changes in color of the test sealant,by observing the color of the test sealant while the test sealant isbeing heated; and estimating the remaining life of the semiconductordevice that has been operated, by evaluating color of a front surface ofthe sealing member in accordance with the relationship acquired in thestep of acquiring the relationship.

The color of the test sealant may be quantified in the step of acquiringthe relationship.

The color of the test sealant may be quantified using a L*a*b* colorspace in the step of acquiring the relationship.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of verifyingthe quality of semiconductor devices, including: mounting a plurality ofsemiconductor devices, each including a sealing member formed of asealant that initially has a chromatic, white, or gray color, on asubstrate; comparing degrees of discoloration of the respective sealingmembers in the plurality of semiconductor devices to one another; anddetermining that the plurality of semiconductor devices are in goodworking condition when the step of comparing does not show a prescribeddegree of variation in the degrees of discoloration among the pluralityof semiconductor devices, and determining that the plurality ofsemiconductor devices are not in good working condition when the step ofcomparing shows the prescribed degree of variation in the degrees ofdiscoloration among the plurality of semiconductor devices.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the degree ofdegradation of a sealant forming a sealing member that seals asemiconductor element can be determined from the appearance of thesealing member.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory, andare intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates a cross-sectionalstructure of a semiconductor device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates a relationship betweenan operating time of the semiconductor device and a value b*.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates a relationship betweenthe temperature of the front surface of a sealing member of thesemiconductor device and the operating time of the semiconductor device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates the relationshipbetween an inverse of the thermodynamic temperature of the front surfaceof the sealing member of the semiconductor device and the operating timeof the semiconductor device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereafter withreference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limitedto the embodiments described below. Furthermore, in this specification,the terms “top” and “bottom” are relative terms used for descriptivepurposes to indicate “top” and “bottom” within the drawings, and are notterms that indicate “top” and “bottom” within the actual embodiments ofthe semiconductor device.

Embodiment 1

As shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor device 1 includes an insulatingsubstrate 2. The insulating substrate 2 includes an insulating layer 21,a first copper plating 22 attached to the bottom of the insulating layer21 so as to be parallel to the insulating layer 21, and a second copperplating 23 attached to the top of the insulating layer 21 so as to beparallel to the insulating layer 21.

The semiconductor device 1 includes a plate-like SiC (silicon carbide)semiconductor element 4. This SiC semiconductor element 4 is mounted onthe top of the second copper plating 23 that forms a portion of theinsulating substrate 2 via a first connecting layer 3 that iselectrically conductive, with the SiC semiconductor element 4 beingmounted so as to be parallel to the insulating substrate 2. An implantedprinted circuit board 6 that is an internal printed circuit board in thesemiconductor device 1 is attached to the top of the SiC semiconductorelement 4 via a second connecting layer 5 that is electricallyconductive. The implanted printed circuit board 6 includes implant pins61 on the bottom, and is attached to the second connecting layer 5 viathese implant pins 61.

The semiconductor device 1 further includes a terminal 7 attached to thetop of the implanted printed circuit board 6, and a terminal 8 attachedto the top of the second copper plating 23. The semiconductor device 1can electrically connect to the exterior of the semiconductor device 1via the terminals 7 and 8.

The semiconductor device 1 further includes a sealing member 9 thatseals the SiC semiconductor element 4, the implanted printed circuitboard 6, and at least a portion of the insulating substrate 2. Thesealing member 9 is formed so that the semiconductor device 1 will havea substantially cuboid shape as a whole. The bottom of the first copperplating 22 that forms a portion of the insulating substrate 2 is exposedto the exterior of the semiconductor device 1 at the back surface 9 a ofthe sealing member 9. The tip portions of the terminals 7 and 8 protrudeto the outside of the semiconductor device 1 from a front surface 9 b ofthe sealing member 9.

A substantially cylindrical mounting clamp 91 is embedded in theperiphery 9 c of the sealing member 9. A bolt (not shown) for attachingthe semiconductor device 1 upon another member, with the back surface 9a functioning as the attachment surface, is inserted in the mountingclamp 91.

The sealing member 9 is formed of a sealant made by adding a pigment anda curing agent to an epoxy resin, which is the primary component. Asingle pigment or a combination of a plurality of pigments can be usedso that the sealant is a color other than black, such as a chromatic,white, or gray color.

When the semiconductor device 1 is operated, the sealant that forms thesealing member 9 degrades as a result of heat. As this degradationoccurs, the color of at least the front surface 9 b of the sealingmember 9, which was originally chromatic, white, or gray, fades andchanges to black over time. Specifically, the closer a portion of thefront surface 9 b is to the SiC semiconductor element 4, the morediscoloration occurs as a result of heat generated by the SiCsemiconductor element 4. In such cases, partial discoloration isobserved on the front surface 9 b. On the other hand, the entire frontsurface 9 b discolors uniformly as a result of heat from outside thesemiconductor device 1.

According to the semiconductor device 1 as described above, the degreeof degradation of the sealant that forms the sealing member 9 can bedetermined by observing the front surface 9 b of the sealing member 9.The degree to which the sealant has degraded can be determined by howblack the color of the front surface 9 b has become. In addition, it canbe determined that the sealing member 9 has degraded as a result of heatgenerated by the SiC semiconductor element 4 if the discoloration is notuniform. Conversely, it can be determined that the sealing member 9 hasdegraded as a result of heat from outside the semiconductor device 1 ifthe discoloration is nearly uniform across the entire front surface 9 bof the sealing member 9.

Furthermore, as a result of preparing a first semiconductor device and asecond semiconductor device that have the same structure as thesemiconductor device 1 and then conducting heat degradation tests on thefirst semiconductor device, the remaining life of the secondsemiconductor device at a certain time can be estimated when actuallyplaced and operated in a power conditioner or the like. This process isdescribed in more detail below.

Step 1: Heat degradation tests are conducted on the first semiconductordevice and a relationship between a value that represents the color ofthe front surface 9 b of the sealing member 9 of the first semiconductordevice and the operating time of the first semiconductor device isobtained.

Step 2: The second semiconductor is actually used, and the color of thefront surface of the sealing member 9 of the second semiconductor deviceat a certain time is quantified. This quantification can be done using acolorimeter, for example.

Step 3: The remaining life of the second semiconductor device isestimated by comparing the value representing the color of the frontsurface 9 b of the sealing member 9 of the second semiconductor deviceto the relationship obtained from the heat degradation tests.

Example 1

In this example, a sealing member 9 of a first semiconductor device anda sealing member 9 of a second semiconductor device are formed of asealant that includes a singular pigment of copper phthalocyanine, whichis blue. This means that the sealing members 9 will also be blue.

A L*a*b* color space, which is one type of color space, is used toquantify this blue color. This L*a*b* color space was established by theInternational Committee on Illumination (CIE) and has been adopted bythe Japan Industrial Standards (JIS). When looking only at negativevalues, a b* value in the L*a*b* color space indicates that the bluebecomes brighter as the value becomes smaller, and fades as the valueapproaches 0. The initial b* value of a front surface 9 b of the sealingmember 9 is −40 to −20.

The results of heat degradation tests conducted on a first semiconductordevice that includes such a sealing member 9 are shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2also illustrates a relationship between an operating time of the firstsemiconductor device 1 and the value of b*. As shown in the figure, theinitial b* value of the front surface 9 b of the sealing member 9 is−33. The value of b* after the start of heat degradation testsrepresents the value of the portion of the front surface 9 b of thesealing member 9 in which the most discoloration occurred.

Curve G1 in FIG. 2 illustrates the results of a semiconductor devicebeing continuously operated so that the temperature of a front surface 9b reaches 160° C. In addition, curve G2 illustrates the results of asemiconductor device being continuously operated so that the temperatureof a front surface 9 b reaches 175° C. Curve G3 illustrates the resultsof a semiconductor device being continuously operated so that thetemperature of a front surface 9 b reaches 190° C.

As shown in curves G1 to G3, the value of b* increases over time fromthe initial value of −33 to a value of −5 or higher. In addition, therate at which the value of b* increases rises as the temperature of thefront surface 9 b becomes hotter. The points at which the value of b*became −15 are represented by points P1 to P3 respectively on curves G1to G3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between the temperature of the frontsurface 9 b of the sealing member 9 and the operating time of the firstsemiconductor device for the value of b* to change from −33 to −15.Points P4 to P6 in FIG. 3 correspond to points P1 to P3 in FIG. 2,respectively. In other words, points P4 to P6 are points in accordancewith measured values obtained from the heat degradation tests. Line G4is approximated from these three points (P4 to P6). According to theapproximated point P7 on the line G4, it is estimated that value of b*would be −15 after 44,000 hours if the second semiconductor device wascontinuously operated such that the temperature of the front surface 9 bof the sealing member 9 of the second semiconductor device reached 80°C. This operating time of 44,000 hours can be considered to be the“life” of the sealing member 9. If the annual operating time is 2200hours, then this operating time of 44,000 hours would be equivalent to20 years.

The relationship (not shown) between the operating time and the value ofb* can then be approximated, based on curves G1 to G3 in FIG. 2 and lineG4 in FIG. 3, in a case in which the second semiconductor device 1 hasbeen continuously operated such that the temperature of the frontsurface 9 b of the sealing member 9 of the second semiconductor device 1reached 80° C. The approximated relationship between the operating timeand the value of b*, and the b* value of the front surface of thesealing member 9 at a certain time when the second semiconductor deviceis continuously operated so that the temperature of the front surface 9b of the sealing member 9 of the second semiconductor device reaches 80°C., are then compared. By so doing, the degradation state of the sealingmember 9 of the second semiconductor device, or in other words, theoperating time until that point and the remaining life of the secondsemiconductor device, can be estimated.

Line G5 in FIG. 4 illustrates the relationship between an inverse of athermodynamic temperature of the front surface 9 b of the sealing member9 and an operating time for the value of b* to change from an initialvalue of −33 to a value of −15. The point P8 on line G5 corresponds topoint P7 in FIG. 3.

Example 2

A combination of two pigments (copper phthalocyanine, which is blue, andbismuth yellow, which is yellow) is used when forming the sealing member9 of the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device.In such cases, the sealing member 9 will be green. A value of a* in theL*a*b* color space is used to quantify the green color. When looking atonly negative values, the value of a* indicates that the green colorbecomes brighter as the value becomes smaller, and fades as the valueapproaches 0. The value of a* before heat degradation occurs is −30 to−15. The value of a* then increases to a value of −5 or higher as aresult of degradation.

Line G6 in FIG. 4 illustrates the relationship between an inverse of athermodynamic temperature of the front surface 9 b of the sealing member9 and an operating time for the value of a* to change from an initialvalue of −21 to a value of −10. From point P9 on line G6, it can be seenthat the value of a* increases from the initial value of −21 to a valueof −10 after 44,000 operating hours at a temperature of 90° C.

Additional Embodiments

A plurality of semiconductor devices 1 can be mounted on an externalprinted circuit board disposed on the exterior of the plurality ofsemiconductor devices 1. As an example, FIG. 5 illustrates an externalprinted circuit board 100 on which four semiconductor devices 1 aremounted. To distinguish between the four semiconductor devices 1, eachsemiconductor device 1 has been given a reference character from 1-1 to1-4. The degrees of discoloration of each of the sealing members 9 ofthe four semiconductor devices 1 are then compared to one another. As aresult of this comparison, the load status of the four semiconductordevices 1 can be evaluated. In addition, if the discoloration of one ofthe semiconductor devices has progressed further than that of the otherthree semiconductor devices, it can be surmised that there is anabnormality in the one semiconductor device. The values in thepreviously mentioned L*a*b* color space, color samples, or the like canbe used as standards for comparison in such cases. In addition, adetermination may be made by a simple visual comparison when there is aclear difference in the discoloration among the plurality ofsemiconductor devices 1.

The heat degradation tests in the aforementioned Step 1 are notnecessary when estimating the remaining life of a semiconductor device;obtaining a relationship among the three essential factors (temperatureof the sealant, which is the material used to form the sealing member,duration, and color of the sealing member) is sufficient to perform suchan estimation. In other words, the following steps may be used in placeof Steps 1 to 3.

Step 1a: The sealant, which is the material used to form the sealingmember, is heated and a relationship among the three essential factors(heating temperature, duration of heating, and color of the sealant) isobtained. In this relationship, the color of the sealant does not needto be represented by a numerical value, and may be represented by avisually verifiable color sample.

Step 2a: A semiconductor device that includes a sealing member formedfrom a sealant having the same composition as the aforementioned sealantis operated. The remaining life of the semiconductor device is estimatedby comparing the color of the front surface of the sealing member at acertain time to the aforementioned relationship.

A different type of semiconductor element, such as a GaN (galliumnitride) semiconductor element, may be substituted for the SiCsemiconductor element in FIG. 1. In addition, the primary component ofthe sealant forming the sealing member 9 is not limited to an epoxyresin, and a different resin such as a polyester resin can be used. Aninorganic filler may be added, as needed, when making the sealant thatforms the sealing member 9. Furthermore, the entire bottom surface ofthe first copper plating 22 may be sealed by the sealing member 9. Othermethods besides a L*a*b* color space may be used when quantifying thecolor of the sealing member 9. These include a different type of colorspace, such as a RGB color space, or a color system.

Embodiments of the present invention were described above; however, thepresent invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments andvarious modifications and changes in accordance with the technicalspirit of the present invention are possible.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it isintended that the present invention cover modifications and variationsthat come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.In particular, it is explicitly contemplated that any part or whole ofany two or more of the embodiments and their modifications describedabove can be combined and regarded within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device, comprising: an insulatingsubstrate; a semiconductor element mounted on said insulating substrate;an internal printed circuit board disposed on said semiconductorelement; and a sealing member that seals said semiconductor element,said internal printed circuit board, and at least a portion of saidinsulating substrate; wherein said sealing member is made of a sealantthat includes a resin and a pigment, and that initially has a chromatic,white, or gray color, and wherein said sealing member degrades, therebycausing color of a front surface thereof to change to a degreerecognizable by a user after the semiconductor device has been in useunder a prescribed condition for a prescribed duration.
 2. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said pigment has ablue color so that a b* value within a L*a*b* color space of the frontsurface of said sealing member is −40 to −20.
 3. The semiconductordevice according to claim 2, wherein the b* value of at least a portionof the front surface of said sealing member changes to −5 or above as aresult of degradation of said sealant.
 4. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said pigment has a blue color and thesealant further includes another pigment that has a yellow color, sothat an a* value within a L*a*b* color space of the front surface ofsaid sealing member is −30 to −15.
 5. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 4, wherein the a* value of at least a portion of the frontsurface of said sealing member changes to −5 or above as a result ofdegradation of said sealant.
 6. A device, comprising: a printed circuitboard; and the semiconductor device according to claim 1 mounted in aplurality on the printed circuit board.
 7. A method of estimatingremaining life of a semiconductor device that includes a sealing membermade of a sealant, the sealant initially having a chromatic, white, orgray color, the method comprising: heating a test sealant that has thesame composition as the sealant in the semiconductor device atprescribed heating temperatures for prescribed durations; acquiring arelationship among the heating temperatures, heating durations, andresulting changes in color of the test sealant, by observing the colorof the test sealant while the test sealant is being heated; andestimating the remaining life of the semiconductor device that has beenoperated, by evaluating color of a front surface of the sealing memberin accordance with the relationship acquired in the step of acquiringsaid relationship.
 8. The method of estimating remaining life of asemiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein the color of the testsealant is quantified using a L*a*b* color space in the step ofacquiring said relationship.
 9. The method of estimating remaining lifeof a semiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein the step ofheating includes: preparing a test semiconductor device having the samestructure and composition as the semiconductor device of which theremaining life is to be estimated; operating the test semiconductordevice under a prescribed condition for a prescribed duration; measuringa temperature of the front surface of the sealing member of the testsemiconductor device while the test semiconductor device is beingoperated; and observing changes in the color of the front surface of thesealing member of the test semiconductor device while the testsemiconductor device is being operated.
 10. A method of verifying thequality of semiconductor devices, comprising: mounting a plurality ofsemiconductor devices, each including a sealing member formed of asealant that initially has a chromatic, white, or gray color, on asubstrate; comparing degrees of discoloration of the respective sealingmembers in the plurality of semiconductor devices to one another; anddetermining that the plurality of semiconductor devices are in goodworking condition when the step of comparing does not show a prescribeddegree of variation in the degrees of discoloration among the pluralityof semiconductor devices, and determining that the plurality ofsemiconductor devices are not in good working condition when the step ofcomparing shows the prescribed degree of variation in the degrees ofdiscoloration among the plurality of semiconductor devices.